


a little too far from home

by georgiehensley



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Tomorrow People (2013)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Multiverse, Post-Canon Fix-It, proto!John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5257553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wakes up on warm, hard pavement with no recollection of how he got there.</p>
<p>Or, John wakes up in Earth-1 Central City and the Flash team help him get back home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a little too far from home

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea last night for how I'd want a Flash/TTP crossover to go (since apparently a lot of the people who work on The Flash actually used to work on TTP, and Arrow managed to bring back a character from a canceled TV show), and since I really want to see it played out and know that it will likely never happen, I decided to write it myself.
> 
> Honestly, if the show hadn't introduced that whole multiverse idea, I don't know if I could have ever written this. I mean, I guess I generally had the same idea with the other crossover fics I've written, but really those were more like Reincarnation AUs rather than real multiverse ones.
> 
> Anyway, hope I did this justice...

He wakes up on warm, hard pavement with no recollection of how he got there. 

There’s a dull pounding inside his head, making it hard for him to see in the bright daylight, but he ignores it, instead attempting to push himself up into a seated position in order to take in his surroundings. Just as he does so, he hears a car horn getting louder as the vehicle approaches him, and with little time to think, he does what his instinct tells him to – he teleports over onto the nearest sidewalk. The car horn still honks as the vehicle moves away, likely due to the confusion of the driver at the sight they just witnessed.

But he doesn’t care, he has a mission after all – to recruit as many Tomorrow People as he can for his boss’ plan. This plan, of course, he is still in the dark about, but that he doesn’t care about either, ‘cause whatever his boss tells him to do, he’ll do it.

But first he has to figure out how he got to where he is now.

 

“Guys, you have to check this out.” Cisco says as he sits on his computer, typing in a few things before what’s showing on his screen is projected onto one of the ones mounted on the wall. _‘Mysterious Teleporting Man Found in Downtown’_ is typed on the bottom half of the screen, a video being shown of a blond man dressed in a suit sitting on the pavement, about to be hit by a car, before then appearing on a nearby sidewalk.

“A teleporter?” Barry says. “I thought we dealt with one of those already.”

“Yeah, but this one’s different.” Cisco says, pausing the video feed as he stands up and steps out from behind the desk. “Not only can he teleport, but supposedly he can also move things with his mind, and read other people’s minds.”

“Telekinetic and telepathic,” Caitlin comments. “That’s one interesting metahuman.”

“He’s not a metahuman.”

The three turn to see Dr. Wells – Harry, as Cisco prefers to call this version of the man – stepping into the room.

“Then what is he?” Barry asks.

“They call themselves the Tomorrow People,” Wells explains. “They were born with these powers, they just develop later on in life. Telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation. All of them can do all three, some are stronger than others. He’s one of the ones to watch out for.”

“How do you know this?” Caitlin asks. “You didn’t create them, did you?”

“No,” Wells answers. “But I heard a lot about them, and I was so fascinated that I did my research. The majority of them come from New York, but some live in other parts of the country. Generally, they hide themselves from the world, but a place called Ultra was revealed to have plans for them, only to be taken down by said powerful people.”

“But, wait, then are they from _your_ world?” Barry asks. “’Cause I’ve never heard of them.”

“Yes, they’re from my earth.” Wells says. “One must have gotten through a breach.”

“So then he must be affiliated with Zoom.” Cisco says.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that—” Wells tries to say, but is ignored.

“I’m gonna go check this guy out.” Barry says. “I’ll be back soon.” Wells opens his mouth again to try and stop him, but of course, it’s no use, as he’s only met with the sight of a red streak, the Flash suit disappearing, and a far too strong wind hitting his face.

 

He’s been walking for hours, feeling lost in this city he doesn’t recognize. Of course, he knows he could just teleport back home, but he’s tried – and all that’s done is gotten him right back to where he started.

He’s tired, hungry, thirsty, so when he finds himself stumbling in front of a coffee shop, he feels a sense of relief, only to find that the place is locked, which brings a sigh out of him.

Suddenly, a rush of wind hits him from behind, and he turns around, only to see a masked man dressed in a suit of red leather now standing in front of him.

“Who are you?” He asks, confused, feeling far too tired to really put up a fight with this man.

“Here, they call me The Flash,” The man says, voice sounding concealed – by what, he isn’t so sure. “And I don’t think you’re from around here.”

“I don’t know where I am or how I got here.” He says. “Just let me go.”

“You’re dangerous.” The man in red says, shaking his head. “I don’t think I can do that.” Breathing in deeply, the blond closes his eyes, forcing himself to teleport away, only making it about ten feet from his previous spot. _Dammit_. Suddenly, there’s a hand on his shoulder, and the man in red is speaking to him again.

“Sorry,” He says. “But I don’t think I can let you leave just yet.”

 

“According to DNA tests, his name is Lincoln Campbell,” Caitlin explains to the others, the blond currently sound asleep in the other room. “Somehow associated with a force called S.H.I.E.L.D.—”

“He’s not Lincoln Campbell.” Wells says, cutting her off.

“And how would you know that?” Cisco asks. “He’s not a metahuman.”

“His name is John Young.” Wells continues, ignoring Cisco’s question. “You won’t find any information about him from this earth because his doppelganger has a different name, which isn’t uncommon for some people.”

“So the Earth-2 versions of us might not actually be… us?” Barry asks. Wells smiles slightly, almost as though he finds the question humorous.

“Correct, Mr. Allen.” He says. “Someone should be keeping an eye on him, though, as he might—” His words are cut off by just what he was going to warn the others of, as John suddenly appears on the ground in front of them, slowly blinking away, sitting up with a start when he realizes he’s no longer in the hospital bed.

“Sorry.” He says. “My powers might act up a little since I’m so far from home.” Caitlin, Barry, and Cisco all glance up at Wells as if to ask, _you know how to fix this?_

“Give me some time,” He says, as if reading their minds. “And I will figure something out.”

 

“He’s not like that other metahuman we dealt with,” Caitlin says, pacing the room as Wells sits hunched over the desk, seeming to be putting _something_ together. “She could only teleport to places she could see. He doesn’t seem like he can do that.”

“Relax, Ms. Snow,” Wells says, trying to reassure her. “What I’m putting together here will help us easily be able to control him.”

“How?” Caitlin asks. “By sedating him? Knocking him out? We saw how well that worked—”

“No.” Wells says, turning around, what appears to be a syringe in his hands. “By removing his powers altogether.”

 

The process seemed easy enough, with Wells injecting a simple shot of the serum into the blond’s neck. It’s only when they have a seemingly seizure-ing John on their hands that they begin to panic.

“Don’t.” Wells says, holding his hand up to stop them from interfering. “It’s supposed to be like that.” Despite the overwhelming urge to step in and help the seemingly pain-stricken man, Cailtin, Cisco, and Barry all listen to Wells, staying in their place and simply watching the scene in front of them.

 

He wakes up in a hospital bed, all memories of how he got there completely erased from his mind. Last thing he remembers is calling out Cara’s name while his body shook as Roger’s powers were injected into his system, Jedikiah watching on, even as the whole ordeal became too much for him and John got knocked out.

Now, he’s in a place he doesn’t recognize at all, and for a moment, he wonders if Jed is being cautious and has actually taken him to a hospital to treat him for whatever may have happened to him. But he doesn’t see the man sitting by his bedside, and it’s just as well – he didn’t want him there anyway. Instead, a pretty brunette is tending to the machines he’s hooked up to, and when she realizes that he’s awake, she smiles.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” She says.

“Who are you?” He asks, confusion causing his heart rate to pick up, as he can hear on a monitor. “Where am I?” The woman’s eyebrows furrow, but she still answers his questions.

“I’m Dr. Caitlin Snow,” She says. “And you’re at S.T.A.R. Labs. We’ve been over all the introductions already.”

“I think the serum may have affected his mind as well.” A seemingly familiar man says as he walks into the room, gaze cast on the blond. He remembers the man’s name, knowing he’s heard it somewhere, seen his face on some book or magazine—

“Harrison Wells.” He says, thinking back to the book he once saw sitting on Jedikiah’s desk. “What are you doing here?” The man smiles.

“I should be asking you the same thing, Mr. Young.” He says. “I hope you don’t mind if we ask you a few questions.”

 

He was brainwashed. His entire, real life was taken from him by some man named Jedikiah Price, who had raised him like a son for nearly half of his life only to manipulate him and make him do things he naturally never would have. They still don’t know how he got to Earth-1, only figuring that someone must have forced him through one. (Barry would assume that Zoom did it, but why he would go after someone who isn’t a metahuman, they’ll never know.)

“Sorry about taking away your powers,” Caitlin says as she begins to unhook John from all the machines he’s attached to, having done enough tests on him to realize that he’s perfectly healthy despite the reaction he had to the serum earlier. “It must feel so deflating going from having all these abilities to simply being human.”

“Being human isn’t so bad.” John says. “It’s how I was before the brainwashing – powerless, human. I didn’t mind it. I had someone to bond with over it, another human.” Caitlin smiles.

“A girlfriend?” She asks. John smiles slightly.

“Yeah, something like that.” He says. “We weren’t quite at the stage yet to put a label on things.” Caitlin continues to smile, and John finds his gaze shifting away from her, and towards the table behind her, where he finds a frame to be sitting, displaying a picture of the doctor standing in front of him sitting next to a very familiar face.

“Who is that?” He asks before he can stop himself. “In the picture over there?” Caitlin follows his gaze and glances back, her face falling as she realizes what John is staring at.

“It’s my husband.” She says, voice sounding shaky, and she forces her initial focus back onto helping John in order to keep herself from crying. “That was taken shortly after we got engaged, before everything bad happened.”

“Everything bad?” John repeats, his eyebrows raising in curiosity. Caitlin sighs, before diving into the story of what happened to Ronnie, of how she thought he died the night the particle accelerator exploded, only to find that he hadn’t, and instead merged with someone else, forming a metahuman who could catch on fire. Her story went on to explain what happened the day the singularity opened, and how Ronnie sacrificed himself for the good of Central City.

“So I got him back only to lose him again, permanently.” Caitlin says, sniffling, blinking repeatedly in order to prevent tears from falling down his face. “So, uh, why’d you ask?”

“’Cause I know him.” John says. “The him from my earth. He’s a, uh, good friend of mine. One of the Tomorrow People. He saved us, all of us. He’s a hero on our earth too, he just didn’t have to sacrifice himself in order to become on.” Caitlin smiles slightly.

“So I’m assuming he doesn’t know Earth-2 me, then.” She says, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know.” John says. “I haven’t spoken to him in a while, since before I became brainwashed. Unless I spoke to him after that too, but it definitely wasn’t a friendly conversation.” Caitlin smiles slightly. “But who knows? Maybe he just met the other version of you, and they’re happy together.”

“Well,” Caitlin says, standing up. “I’m glad he’s happy. And I’m glad you’ll be happy too, since we’re working on a way to get you back home.” John smiles.

“Thank you.” He says. Caitlin smiles.

“No problem.”

 

It really isn’t long after that that John finds himself standing with the others in front of the breaches, the one that’s located right underneath their building. For a moment, he almost doesn’t want to go home, feeling as though he didn’t take advantage of his time on Earth-1 in order to fully explore it, but he figures that this is what he needs to do, as he misses his friends – family, really – back home on his earth.

“Travel safely.” A longer-haired man – Cisco, John remembers him introducing himself as – says. “I don’t really know what other word there is to describe this sort of thing besides ‘travel’.” John smiles slightly.

“Thank you all for your help.” He says. “I probably wouldn’t be able to get back home if it weren’t for you.” They all smile back at him, and he gives them a slight nod, before taking a step towards the breach. He would be able to continue on towards it if Caitlin hadn’t stepped forward, placing a hand on his arm, keeping him from walking any further.

“Take care of your Ronnie for me.” She says. “Or, Stephen, as you said his name is. Make sure nothing bad happens to him.” John smiles, pulling the doctor into a hug.

“I will.” He says softly into her ear. “Don’t worry about it.” When they pull away, a matching smile appears on her face. For one last time, John thanks everyone again, before stepping up towards the breach, taking a deep breath, and stepping through.

 

He ends up in one of the last places he remembers being before being brainwashed – the subway. It’s mostly deserted, as it somehow always seems to be, except for one other person, and the sight of them brings a smile to John’s face. He clears his throat, causing their attention to be directed towards him.

“John?”

“Hey, Astrid.”

In a blur, the brunette runs up to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him as though it’s been forever since they were last together. (And really, for her, it feels that way.) He hugs her back just as tightly, letting his eyes fall shut for a moment as he tries to think back to what this was like, having her wrapped up in his embrace.

“You’re alive, you remember me, you’re—” She starts to say as she steps back, rambling, really, until John finishes her sentence for her.

“Human.” He says with a smile. She smiles as well.

“Human.” She repeats. “How’d you get back to normal?”

“It’s a long story.” He says. “And rather than having to repeat myself later, I think I’ll just wait till we’re with our friends again to tell it.” Astrid nods.

“Okay.” She says. “Oddly enough, I was just headed there now.” John smiles.

“Perfect.” He says. A comfortable silence falls over them then, only to be broken by Astrid turning back around, kissing John on the lips.

“What was that for?” He asks when they pull away.

“You said the next time you’d kiss me, it wouldn’t be because the world’s ending,” She says. “With you back, it almost feels like the world just restarted again.” John smiles again, a hand falling to her waist, guiding her closer again until their faces are just centimeters apart, and he just barely has to lean in in order to meet her lips in yet another kiss.


End file.
